SQL Create Table

SQL Server uses Tables to store and Manage Data. SQL Table is a combination of Rows and Columns. In order to create table in SQL Server, we have to use SQL Create Table Statement

SQL Create Table Syntax

The basic syntax to create table in SQL Server is as shown below:

-- SQL Server Create Table Syntax 
CREATE TABLE [Table Name]
(
    Column_Name1 Data_Type(Size) [NULL | NOT NULL],
    Column_Name2 Data_Type(Size) [NULL | NOT NULL],
     …
    Column_NameN Data_Type(Size) [NULL | NOT NULL]
);

Let us see the individual items from the syntax:

• Table Name: Please provide Unique table name here. If you write the already existing table name, it will throw an error
• Column_Name: Please specify the Unique Column Names required for this table
• Data Type: Please specify the valid Data type that the column will hold. For example, Int, Money, Varchar, Nvarchar and Date
• Size: Data types like Varchar, nvarchar, Char expects the size So, Please provide valid number here
• NULL or NOT NULL: If you select the NULL option then column will accept both normal values and NULL values otherwise, it will throw an error saying Column should not be empty

SQL Create Table Example

We are going to use the below-shown code to create a table called Customer inside the [SQL Tutorial] Database

-- SQL Server Create Table Example
USE [SQL Tutorial]
GO

CREATE TABLE [Customer]
(
  [CustomerKey] [int] NOT NULL,
  [Name] [varchar](150) NULL,
  [DateOfBirth] [date] NULL,
  [EmailAddress] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
  [Profession] [nvarchar](100) NULL
)
GO

NOTE: Before you start creating a TABLE, It is always advisable to check if a Table exists or not.

From the above code you can observe that We declared 5 Columns:

• Our first column is CustomerKey of Integer data type and it will not allow NULL values.
• Name column belongs to Varchar data type and it allows NULL values. We also assigned the size to 150, it means both the columns will accept up to 150 characters
• The third column is DateOfBirth of Date data type and allows NULLs. This will allow us to enter Date values only
• EmailAddress and Profession columns belong to NVarchar data type and it will allow NULL values.

From the below screenshot you can observe that Command is executed successfully and you can see the Newly created table in Sql Server object explorer.

Let me show you the newly created table inside the Object Explorer. Please expand the Columns folder to see the available columns

TIP: If you didn’t find the newly created table, Please click on the refresh button in object explorer

SQL Create Table with Identity Column

In this example, we defined the Customer Key column as an Identity column. This will auto-generate numbers starting with 1 and incremented by 1. (This is optional If you want You can remove IDENTITY (1, 1) portion completely)

-- SQL Server Create Table Example

CREATE TABLE [Customer11]
(
  [CustomerKey] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
  [FirstName] [varchar](50) NULL,
  [LastName] [varchar](50) NULL,
  [BirthDate] [date] NULL,
  [EmailAddress] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
  [Yearly Income] [money] NULL,
  [Profession] [nvarchar](100) NULL
)
GO

OUTPUT

From the below screenshot you can see the newly created table

SQL Create Table with Primary Key

In this example, we will show you, How to create a Table with a Primary Key column. I suggest you refer to a Primary Key article to understand this constraint.

As you can see from the below code snippet, we just added the PRIMARY KEY word to the Customer key. This will create a primary key on Customer key column.

-- SQL Server Create Table Example

CREATE TABLE [Customer111]
(
  [ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
  [CustomerKey] [int] NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
  [FirstName] [varchar](50) NOT NULL ,
  [LastName] [varchar](50) NULL,
  [BirthDate] [date] NULL,
  [EmailAddress] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
  [Yearly Income] [money] NULL,
  [Profession] [nvarchar](100) NULL
)
GO

OUTPUT

SQL Create Table with All Constraints

In this example, we will show you, How to create a Table with Identity Column, Primary Key column, Unique Key, and Check Constraint. I suggest you refer to Unique Key, Default Constraint, and Check Constraint articles to understand these constraints.

As you can see from the below code snippet,

• The last Name will accept Unique values.
• If the user doesn’t provide a value to the Profession column then SQL writes Software Developer as the default value
• Check constraint check whether the Age value is between 0 and 100

-- SQL Server Create Table Example

CREATE TABLE [Customer11111]
(
  [ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
  [CustomerKey] [int] NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
  [FirstName] [varchar](50) NOT NULL ,
  [LastName] [varchar](50) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
  [Age] [int] NULL,
  [EmailAddress] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
  [Yearly Income] [money] NULL,
  [Profession] [nvarchar](100) NOT NULL DEFAULT ('Software Developer'),
  CONSTRAINT CK_Customer11111_Age CHECK([Age] > 0 AND [Age] <= 100)
)
GO

OUTPUT

If you expand the table definition in the Object Explorer, you can see all these constraints

SQL Create Table using Another Table

The SQL Server provides Select into Statement to create a table using an existing table along with data (if any).

Data that we are going to use

Below query will create a new table Customer1111111 using Employee table definition, and insert all the records present in the Employee

-- SQL Server Create Table Example
SELECT  [EmpID], [FirstName], [LastName], [Education]
		,[Occupation], [YearlyIncome], [Sales], [HireDate]
		INTO [SQL Tutorial].[dbo].[Customer1111111]
  FROM [SQL Tutorial].[dbo].[Employee]

OUTPUT

Let me show you the data inside this table

SELECT  [EmpID], [FirstName], [LastName], [Education]
		,[Occupation], [YearlyIncome], [Sales], [HireDate]
  FROM [SQL Tutorial].[dbo].[Customer1111111]

OUTPUT

SQL Create Table in Management Studio

Within the SQL Server Management Studio object explorer, Expand the Database folder in which you want to create a table. Please select the Tables folder and Right click on it will open the context menu.

Select the New option from the context menu and then select the Table.. option as shown below

Once you select the Table.. option, the following window will be opened to type the Column Name, Data Type and Checkbox to decide whether the column allows NULL values or Not

From the below screenshot you can observe that We added 7 columns of different data types

Add Identity Column to SQL Table using Management Studio

First, select the column and Go to the Column Properties tab.

Please change the IsIdentity option from default No to Yes in Identity Specification property as shown below.

Once you finish create table in Sql Server, Please click on the save button to save the table. Once you click on the save button following window will be appeared to rename the table name.

Click OK to finish saving. Write the following Select statement to check whether the table holds all the column names or not.

TIP: You can use INSERT Statement, or insert into to insert data into this newly created table

Create Local and Global Temp Tables in SQL Server

In this example, we will show you, how to create local and global temporary tables in SQL. Please refer Temp Tables article to understand the code.

-- SQL Create Local Temp Table
CREATE TABLE #LocalTemp
(
	[ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	[Name] [nvarchar](255) NULL,
	[Occupation] [nvarchar](255) NULL,
	[Sales] [float] NULL
)
GO

-- SQL Create Global Temp Table
CREATE TABLE ##GlobalTemp
(
	[ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	[Name] [nvarchar](255) NULL,
	[Occupation] [nvarchar](255) NULL,
	[YearlyIncome] [float] NULL,
	[Sales] [float] NULL
)
GO

OUTPUT